The weekend started off with a grilled cheese sandwich, as promised. The sandwich pictured above features sourdough bread, a generous slathering of fresh basil pesto, thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced heirloom tomato, and fresh basil leaves. It tasted just as good, if not better, than it looks.
On Saturday we headed to Lovers & Madmen, a cafe in West Philly, to get some work done. I caught up on some magazine reading that I've been neglecting. (I am forever behind in reading The New Yorker, I just can't keep up!) In the late afternoon D and I headed over to Columbus Boulevard, where we purchased a few more shelves at Ikea, some screws and other whatnot at Lowe's, and a cartful of goodness at Target. Back at home D set up our new shelves, I tidied up a bit (I chore I kind of hate, just ask D), and we worked to get our kitchen closer to finally being organized (yea!).
Following a dinner of frozen pizza (no judgement!), D got word via email that his latest journal article had been accepted, so we popped a bottle of champagne (left over from our 2009 wedding, one more bottle to go!) to celebrate. I also cut up some organic strawberries to go along with the bubbly.
On Sunday we headed out to another cafe so D could get some more work done. The cafe he initially picked to visit turned out to be more a restaurant than a cafe, so we wandered around a bit more before happening upon The Bean Cafe on South Street. Since it was so warm out I opted for an iced nonfat hazelnut mocha, D had an iced coffee, and we both shared an awesome slab of homemade pumpkin bread. While at the cafe I finished reading The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell, one half of the Beekman Boys. D and I started to watch The Fabulous Beekman Boys on Planet Green last year; their new season just started back up, and though our current cable line-up doesn't include the channel, luckily we can still catch it On Demand. The show is about two New York city slickers and their adventures running a small-scale farm (mainly goats, some chickens, one llama named Polka Spot, and two sheep as of last week's episode) in Sharon Springs, located in upstate New York. The book was about the purchase of their historic home and farm, plus the ups and downs of managing a farm alongside dealing with the economic fallout of 2008. Good (and funny) stuff, particularly if you are a fan of their show. D and I may have to try to get up to Sharon Springs sometime while we're out here on the East Coast. Apparently the Beekman Mansion is open to the public a few times during the year. Needless to say, as a bit of a fangirl, I'd love to see it (and the town) firsthand.
In the early afternoon we returned home and I suited up for a long run. I finally bit the bullet and signed up for the ODDyssey Half-Marathon, which is on May 22nd -- which means I need to commit to training! The weather was perfect for a long run, with warm temps, abundant sunshine, and just a light breeze. I managed to get in eight miles -- and they were great. This marks the longest run I'd done since running the Steamboat Springs Half-Marathon in June of 2009 (training for which was lackluster, with the longest run being the Bolder Boulder 10k the weekend before). The run felt great -- my legs felt good, and my joints didn't complain, which is always a good sign. The pathway along the Schuylkill was super-busy, but aside from nearly tripping over a pit bull and playing a game of chicken with a Sunday stroller walking in the opposite direction of traffic, the run was fairly uneventful. It's always nice to get in a really good long run -- such a confidence booster! Now I just gotta keep up the commitment!
After a much-needed (and refreshing) shower, D and I headed out to finish off our weekend with dinner at a new (to us) restaurant. This time we tried The Sidecar Bar & Grille, located at 22nd and Christian, just a short walk from where we live. The restaurant was busy, though we snagged one of the last open tables. D and I both had a Bell's Double Cream stout (shout-out to Kalamazoo!), and for dinner D had the angus burger while I had the S.O.B. black bean burger (with a half portion of fries and half portion of the house salad, a brilliant compromise). The black bean burger was kind of awesome -- I'm a huge fan of vegetarian burgers that are clearly made in house.
All in all, a busy, but fun, weekend. Now, if only we could fast-forward to next weekend. The work week is always getting in my way!
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